Four years ago Vinyl and Octavia broke up. It was messy, painful and left scars on both of them. Four years on, now one of the most successful DJs in Equestria’s history, Vinyl receives news that Octavia has been in a terrible accident. The doctors say she may never recover from her coma, but Vinyl refuses to believe them. There are all sorts of stories about coma patients who are brought back by the voice of someone they care about, right? No matter what anypony else says, offers or threatens, and no matter what it costs her personally or professionally, she is determined to stay by Octavia’s side and do all she can to wake her.

But four years is a long time, and no matter how many fairytales end with the princess waking up, real life owes no-one a happy ending.

Featured on EQD - 3rd August 2013

Now with a fabulous dramatic reading by the even more fabulous Goombasa!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPJutr2gUiE&list=UU4c-khcV1wmr1l_ZRfdp9uQ]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibcPvvXSn8c&list=UU4c-khcV1wmr1l_ZRfdp9uQ]

A rainy day can put a damper on anypony's spirits, but occasionally it instead offers new opportunities, even if those are not always expected or wanted.

Forced to cancel plans or shelter hurriedly or even changing somepony's attitude--the power of pegasi precipitation can bring out the best and the worst.

For this collab, each author was simply tasked with writing a story involving a rainy day. Simple showers or terrible storms, as long as the story included rain, it was acceptable. A nice, simple exercise to give the authors a lot of freedom to explore.

Cover, used with permission, by GiantMosquito, who will be selling it as a print at Everfree NW for you con goers, you.

I don’t question the “life” bar floating over my head, or my “EXP” gauge, or the little phantasmal boxes that appear whenever I look at an “equippable” object that show its “statistics.” It’s normal for small messages to appear in the sky every now and then, such as [System update in 2 hours.] My kind worships the Developers, higher beings that direct, create, and control everything we see. It’s all normal. This is how things have always been, since I was born. My father, my grandfather, my ancestors have all accepted and coped with these elements.

So why does everything feel so... fake?

My name is Twilight_Sparkle, and I know there’s something wrong here.

Co-Written by GaruuSpike and Chaotic Dreams.

(EDIT: This story is cancelled forever because someone sabotaged all of our attempts to write. You know who you are, and so do I, and I hope you're happy for killing it.)

Memories are the soul of the self; it defines the past, shapes the present, and guides the future.

A year has passed since the events of What Would Daring Do. The memories of their struggles have bonded Applejack and Rainbow Dash into a union of love. But when those memories are lost, can Applejack find the strength and resolve to save the pony she loves? A broken mind is a catastrophe; a broken heart, tragedy.

[Second Person Perspective]

Struggling to keep your apartment, you had taken an offer of a loan from somepony who, in exchange, asked for some help in a little 'family business' as they described it. If only you knew what this business actually was. This is how you became the whippingcolt for one of the most nefarious groups in Manehattan.

You are scum. You are less than scum. That is what you are reminded of each and every day.

One day, you get left for dead in the woods. You wake up in a little cottage full of animals with your wound cleaned, your vest patched, and a light yellow mare called Fluttershy taking care of you. The first pony who had ever shown you kindness. Without any hesitation, she's willing to provide you with food, warmth, and shelter. It seems too good to be true.

All too soon, your miserable life quickly catches back up to you and threatens to drag Fluttershy down as well. What would you do and how far would you go for the timid pegasus who found you?

Art by Azenge.

[Second Person Perspective] [Collaboration between Kody910 and Whirring Gears]

Bowling may not be your strong suit, but the Ponyville Bowling League is a chance to hang out with friends every Saturday. Especially Allie Way, who is right at home among the pins and bowling balls.

However, when things are said between all the noise of competition, blow hards, and rising tensions, what will this mean for you and your teammates?

---

Artwork courtesy of Jessy Ruiz of deviantArt. Go support him!

We all believe in something. But what do you believe in?

A few answers to that question, written in 500 words or less.

Everypony loves a good party to ring in the New Year, celebrating the completion of the old and the promise of the new. There's friends and family, fireworks for some, crackers and decorations, the midnight kiss, and, for many, a bit too much alcohol.

Thus enter our story where somepony awakes on the first of the year, completely oblivious to the night before. Who did they see? What did they do? What did they say? It's potentially all downhill from here as they ask the one question on everypony's mind:

What the hay happened last night?

In this collab, each author chose a single pony or non. They were tasked with having this character awaken with little to no memory of the previous night's celebrations. This character would then go on a search to find out exactly what happened. The idea was to create a bit of mystery--and probably a fair bit of comedy--in really trying to make it a sort of discovery for both the character and the author.

Cover, used without permission (so it might change), by PegaSisters82.

The subjunctive is the verbal mood of abstractions and possibilities. To ponies and their indicative-based language, it is a frightful mood, awkward and unwieldy. To changelings and their language of nearly inaudible shrills, it is indispensable.

Equestria’s inhabitants are a diverse race, no two the same color, who speak a language of concretes. But to Errenax, a changeling linguist well-versed in both languages and fascinated by their dimorphism, everything about them intimates a singular notion: that this division of moods and language is perhaps deeper than it initially appeared.

Thank you to my editor, Golden Tassel.

She’s the loyalest of friends and most dependable of ponies; how could anypony not fall in love with Applejack? In fact, so much of the town has found themselves under her seductive spell, they’ve formed a secret society to help each other cope with their unbridled lust. Operating in seclusion, this group has been an unseen staple of Ponyville. Surely, though, nothing good can come of the mare herself discovering the existence of Applejack Anonymous.

Cover pic by the inimitable Mr. Snowpony.